Spindle and bolster and lubrication means therefor



Feb, 28, 1950 E. B. ROBINSON ETAL SPINDLE AND BOLSTER AND LUBRICATION MEANS THEREFOR Filed Nov. 1.7, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 JACK C. (05mm Feb. 28, 1950 E. B. ROBINSON ET AL, 9 3 7 SPINDLE AND BOLSTER AND LUBRICATION MEANS THEREFOR Filed Nov. 17 1,9457 I5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Feb. 28, 1950 SPINDLE AND BOLSTER AND LUBRICATION MEANS THEREFOR Elvin B. Robinson, Gastonia, and Jack C. Costner, Bessemer City, N. 0., assignors of one-third to Arnold W. Kincaid, Kings Mountain, N.

Application November 17, 1947, Serial No. 786,502

8 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved bolster base, bolster and spindle adapted to be associated with a drawing frame, spinning frame and any kind of drawing machinery in which such apparatus is used.

Heretofore it has been quite a problem among textile mills in. providing a spindle and bolster which will have long life and which will be properly lubricated due to the fact that the spindle usually runs from 8,000 to 10,000 revolutions per minute, and it is quite a problem to secure proper lubrication of the spindle and bolster.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved spindle and bolster whereby automatic lubrication and circulation of the lubricant therein will be provided and in which the weight will be taken off the lower tip of the spindle which heretofore has usually rested on a suitable bear: ing, and due to the rapid rotation of the spindle and lack of lubrication, the lower endoi this spindle has usually worn out very rapidly,;thus requiring its replacement;

It is another object of this invention to pro-v vide an improved spindle and bolster in which the spindle is provided with a spiralvane or screw for forcing the lubricant downwardly in the bolster with means provided whereby the lubricant after passing out of the lower portion of the bolster will be returnedupwardly to the upper portion of the spiral vane. on the spindle and thus not only will circulation of the lubricant be provided, but the pressure created by the spiral vane on the spindlewill cause the spindle to rise on its bearing slightly at its lower end and thus not only lower the pressure built up in the lubricant in the spiral vane, but will also allow the lubricant under the force of such pressure to fiow between the lower end of the spindle and its bearing and return through a suitable passageway to the upper portion of the spiral vane on the spindle. r

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will'appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1' is a vertical sectional view through a bolster base, bolster and spindle disposed therein and showing the bolster base mounted in a. bolster rail; Figure 2 is a sectional plan viewtaken along the line 22 in Figure 1; v T 1 Figure 3 is a sectional plan view taken along the line 3-3 in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a sectional plan view taken'along 2 the line 44 in Figure 1 and omitting the bolster rail;

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view through a portion of a modified form of spindle and bolster base;

Figure 6 is a sectional plan view taken along the line 66 in Figure 5; v

Figure '7 is a sectional'plan view taken along the line 1! in Figure 5;

Figure 8 is a top plan view showing a portion of the bolster rail'of a drawing'frame, spinning frame and the like. and showing another form of lubricating apparatus;

Figure 9 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the. line 9-9 in Figure 8;

Figure 10 is a sectional plan view taken along the line Ill-l0 in Figure 9. Referring more specifically to the drawings, the numeral It] indicates a bolster rail having a bolster base I I mounted therein, said bolster base having an enlarged portion H which rests on top of the bolster rail and then the bolster base II is inserted through a suitable opening in the bolster rail and then a washer I3 is placed therearound and a nut 14 is threadably secured on a threaded portion l5 of the bolster base to hold it in position in the bolster rail.

Thebolster base has extending therefrom a neck l6 having a lubricant passageway I] which is covered by a cap [8 pivoted as at [9 and having a lip 20 adapted to be, when the lid is in the position shown in Figure 1, inthe path of the flange 22 of the whirl or pulley 23 which is fixedly secured on a spindle 24 by being pressed thereon as at 25. I v

Disposed within the bolster base is a bolster 21 having a cavity 28 extending downfrom the top thereof to near the bottom. The bolster 21 is keyed by means of a key 30 in position within the bolster base to hold it against rotation. The lower end of the bore 28 of the bolster is restricted as at 3| and the spindle 24' is tapered as at 32 and the lower end of the spindle is pointed at 33 and is adapted to rest in a tubular bearing 34. having a passageway 35 vertically disposed therein. The spindle 24 has a spiral vane 3! disposed therearound for a plurality of convolutions;

The bolster 21 does not extend quite to the bottom of the bore in the bolster base, thus leav-' inga cavity 38 in the lower portion of the bolster base. The bolster has a passageway cut in one side thereof in the form of-a'groove or a flattened portion which communicates with the compartment 38' in the. lower -end of the bolster base, at the, lower end of the groove, and at its upper end communicates with the passageway l1.

There is also provided in the bolster a passageway 42 which establishes communication between the passageway I! and the cavity 28 of the bolster 21.

Thus it is seen that as the spindle rotates in the direction of the arrow in Figure 1, that the oil within the cavity 28 will be forced downwardly in the groove by this screw 31 and this will build up a pressure in the lower end of bore 28 around the lower portion of the spindle 24. This will tend to raise the spindle slightly upwardly and thus will raise the tapered portion 32 from out of contact with the tapered bore 3| and it will also raise the heavily tapered lower end 33 of the spindle 25 upwardly out of contact with the bearing 34 and thus will open the upper end of passageway 35 and the oil will be forced downwardly through passageway 35 into cavity or compartment 38 and then it will be forced upwardly through the groove to and into the passageway l1 and will be forced through passageway 42 back into the bore 28 and thus circulation will be maintained and the lower end portion 33 of the spindle will be slightly raised out of contact with the bearing 34 and thus the spindle will actually be fioating in lubricant or oil while it is rotating. 1

In Figuresb, 6 and '7, a slightly modified form of the invention is shown in which the bolster rail Ill, bolster base ll, and associated parts are the same as indicated by like reference characters as shown in Figure l, but instead of this bolster base having a bolster 21 mounted therein, this bolster is omitted and a cavity 50 of larger dimensions than the cavity 28 in Figure l is provided. In this bore or cavity 50 is mounted a spindle of larger dimension than spindle 24 which has a screw or spiral vane 52 thereon. The lower end of spindle 5! is tapered as at 53 and fits into the tapered portion 54 in the bottom of the bore 50. The extreme lower end of spindle 5! is beveled as at 55 and is cut flat across its lower end and thus provides a small V-shaped cavity 56 in the bottom of bore 50. A spindle is provided with a longitudinally disposed bore 58 which opens into the cavity 56 at the lower end of the spindle and it extends upwardly to a point immediately above the top end of the spiral vane 52 where a radially disposed bore 59 communicates with the top end of the vertically disposed bore 58 and with the exterior of the spindle.

In this form of the invention, rotation of the spindle 5! in the direction of the arrow in Figure 5 causes oil pressure to be built up in the lower portion of cavity 50 which raises the spindle 5| slightly and thus provides a passageway between the beveled portion of the spindle 5i and the tapered bore 54 and the oil is forced down into the cavity 58 and up through the vertically disposed bore 58 and out through the radial bore 59 and back downwardly to thus cause a circulation of the lubricant within the bolster base.

In Figures 8, 9 and 10, a still further modified form of the invention is shown and in which like reference characters apply to the preceding forms for like parts, but instead of having a lubricant spout or filling neck [6 with a cap 18 thereon for preventing upward movement of the spindle, there is provided a leaf spring member 60 which has to be pulled to the right in Figure 9 to allow the spindle to be removed from the bolster base. The spindle 5| in thisform of the invention does not have any vertically-disposed bore, but it does have the spiral vane 52 thereon and the sloping lower end 53, but the lower end of the spindle is not cut ofi but projects into a suitable L-shaped passageway 61 in the lower end of the bolster base into which is fitted a connection 62 to which a pipe 65 is connected.

At the point where the passageway 11 enters the interior. of the bolster base in the first two modified forms of the invention, a fitting 65 is provided to which is connected a pipe 66. There a fitting 65 and a pipe 65 and a fitting 62 and a pipe 53 for each of the bolster bases. The pipes 63 are connected to suitable Ts 69 in pipe 61 and the pipes 66 are connected to suitable Ts 68 in a pipe 70. The pipe 5! at one end has an uprising portion H which leads into the top of a lubricant tank '12 and the pipe leads into the bottom of the lubricant tank 12 as at M. Therefore, each of the spindles 5i, when they rotate,

' will force lubricant downwardly and will tend to lift the spindle upwardly and allow it to flow between the beveled walls 54 of the bolster base and the beveled portion 53 of the spindle and out through the short pipe 63 into the main pipe 61 where it will fiow into the top of the tank 12, and then lubricant will flow from pipe l4 into pipe 10 and thence into the various branch pipes 66 through the passageway I! into the upper portion of the cavity 50 and thus the lubricant will be circulated in each one of the bolster bases and will be passed back to a tank, the upper level of the lubricant being at an elevation slightly below the upper end of the bolster base to prevent overflowing of the bolster base.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

We claim:

1. In a spindle and bolster construction, a bolster having a vertically disposed bore therein and a spindle mounted for rotation in the bore in the bolster, said spindle having a spirally disposed vane thereon for forcing lubricant downwardly in the bore'in the bolster, said spindle having a vertically disposed bore therein extending from the lower end of the spindle to a point immediately above the upper end of the spiral Vans and said spindle having a radially disposed bore extending from the exterior thereof to the upper end of the centrally disposed bore in the spindle, the lower end of the bolster having a tapered bearing therein and the lower end of the spindle havin a tapered portion rotatably mounted. in said bearing whereby upon rotation being imparted to the spindle, the lubricant within the bolster will be forced downwardly to raise the tapered lower end of the spindle upwardly with relation to the tapered bore in the lower end of the bolster and to force lubricant upwardly in the centrally disposed bore in the spindle and outwardly through the radially disposed bore to thus circulate the lubricant within the bolster and to slightly elevate the spindle in the bolster.

2. In a spinning frame and the like, a spindle having a spirally disposed vane thereon intermediate its ends and the lower end of the spindle being tapered and a suitable concave bearing supporting the lower end of the spindle, normally closed means establishing communication between the extreme lower end of the spindle through said bearing and that portion of the spindle disposed above the spirally disposed vane,

ahead whereby upon; rotation beingfirnparted to the spindle, lubricant will be forced downwardly with relation to the spindle to build-up pressure-in the lubricant to thus rais the f spiridle slightlyffor establishing communication between the lower end of the-spindle and that portion of the-spindle above the spirally disposed vane whereby lubricant will be forced from the lower end of the spindle to that portion of the spindle disposed above the spirally disposed vane.

3. A bolster and spindle structure comprising a bolster base and a bolster mounted in the bolster base and a spindle havin a tapered lower end mounted for rotation in the bolster, said bolster having a vertically disposed bOre in which the spindle is mounted and the lower end of said bore having a downwardly tapered bore ,communicating therewith and a bearing portion mounted in the lower end of the tapered bore and having a concave upper surface for receiving the tapered lower end of the spindle, said bearing portion also having a centrally disposed passageway extending vertically therethrough, said spindle having a screw thereon for forcing lubricant downwardly in the bolster and for building up the pressure of the lubricant in the bolster to raise the spindle slightly to allow the lubricant to flow downwardly through the lower end of the bolster, said bolster having an exterior groove extending from the bottom thereof to a point adjacent the top end of the screw on the spindle and a radially disposed bore in the holster communicating with the top end of said groove and with the bore in the bolster.

4. A spindle and bolster structure comprising a bolster base having a vertically disposed bore therein and a tubular bolster mounted in said bore, said bore having a vertically disposed tapered bore communicating with the lower end of the bolster and communicating with the bore in the bolster, a rotatable spindle mounted in the tubular bolster and having a tapered lower end conforming to the tapered bore and also having a spiral vane or screw thereon for forcing lubricant downwardly in the tubular bolster, the lower end of the bolster having a vertically extending opening therein and the lower end of the spindle being mounted in the vertical opening and normally closing said opening, said bolster and bolster base having a passagewayextending therebetween from the lower end of the bolster to a point on the spindle immediately above the upper end of the spiral vane thereon, and said bolster having a radial bore therein disposed at a point approximately in the same horizontal plane as the top of the spiral vane and whereby rotation of the spindle will force lubricant downwardly in the bolster and lift the spindle upwardly to cause the lubricant to be forced out of the lower end of the bolster and upwardly to a point above the upper end of the vane on the spindle.

5. An improved bolster base, bolster and spindle for a spinnin frame and the like comprising a bolster base having a vertically disposed cylindrical bore therein, a bolster fixedly mounted in the bolster base and having a vertically disposed cylindrical bore therein, a spindle mounted for rotation in the bore in the bolster and having a spirally disposed vane thereon, the lower end of the bolster having a downwardly tapered bore therein communicating at its upper end with the lower end of the cylindrical bore, the lower end of the spindle having a tapered portion mounted for rotation in the tapered bore in the bolster,

means-establishing communication betw'een the lower end of the tapered bore and theiupper "pot tion-of the spindle at a point immediately above the "uppenend of thespiral vane whereby rotationof the spindle will force lubricant downwardly and raise the tapered lower end of the spindle upwardly with relation to the tapered bore and force. the lubricant ,through said, tapered bore and back to the upperportion ,of the spindle at a point immediately above the upper end of the spirally disposed vane.

6. In a bolster and spindle for a spinning frame and the like, said bolster having a vertically disposed cylindrical bore therein whose lower end is restricted and a spindle mounted for rotation in the bore and having its lower end restricted to conform to the restricted'portion of the cylindrical bore, said spindle having a spirally disposed vane thereon and means establishing communication between .the lower end of the restricted bore and that portion of the spindle disposed immediately above the upper end of the spirally disposed vane whereby rotation of the spindle will cause a lubricant disposed within the bore in which the spindle is mounted to be forced downwardly to slightly raise the spindle,

separate its lower end from the walls of the restricted portion and force the lubricant from the lower end of the spindle back to a point above the upper end of the spiral Vane on said spindle.

'7. Means for mounting a textile spindle for rotation comprising a member having a vertically disposed cylindrical bore, said member having a downwardly tapered bore in the lower end thereof whose upper end communicates with the lower end of the cylindrical :bore, a spindle mounted for rotation in the cylindrical bore and having a tapered lower portion conforming to the tapered bore and being mounted for rotation therein, said spindle having a spiral vane thereon for forcing lubricant downwardly upon rotation of the spindle, means establishing an oil passageway between the lower end of the tapered bore and the cylindrical bore at a point approximately at the upper end of the spiral vane on the spindle whereby rotation of the spindle will cause the spindle to be raised upwardly to provide a space between the tapered lower end of the spindle and the walls of the tapered bore to thus force lubricant downwardly through the tapered bore and through the oil passageway back to the cylindrical bore at a point substantially at the upper end of said vane.

8. Means for mounting a spindle in a spinning frame and the like comprising a bolster having a vertically disposed cylindrical bore therein and having an inverted frusto-conical bore in the lower end thereof whose upper end communicates with the lower end of the cylindrical bore, a spindle mounted for rotation in said bores and having a spiral vane thereon for propelling a lubricant disposed in the cylindrical bore downwardly, said spindle having an inverted frustoconical portion on the lower end thereof conforming to the shape of the frusto-conical bore in the lower end of the bolster, a pipe leading from the lower end of the frusto-conical bore, a tank to which said pipe is connected, a second pipe leading from said tank and communicating with the cylindrical bore at a point immediately above the upper end of the spiral vane on said spindle, whereby rotation of the spindle will raise the spindle relative to the frusto-conical bore to force lubricant downwardly through the frusto-conical bore and through the first-named pipe intovthe tank from whence it; will flow back into the cylindrical bore immediately above the REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: V v

UNITED STATES PATENTS top portion of the spiral vane on the spindle. Number m Date ELV'IN B. ROBINSON, 1,837,020 Defibaugh Dec. 15, 1931 JACK c, COSTNER 5 1,928,525 Etheridge- Sept. 26. 1933 2,044,890 Reddie June 23, 1936 

